Monthly Archives: September 2009

“If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.” – Gustav Mahler Every Wednesday brings Words of Wisdom here at the Color in my Piano blog…in the form of a musical quote or joke, intended to bring inspiration or humor to the […]

Student Recitals are great because they give students a goal to work towards, giving their lessons more direction and increasing the student’s motivation for making progress on their pieces. Parents and grandparents also love them, because they get a chance to watch the students play their pieces onstage. Here’s a checklist for when you plan […]

If you head over the the Printables page, you will see that it has undergone a complete makeover! I was having a great deal of difficulty with the WordPress plugin I was using to organize and display my printables, so finally I scrapped it totally and found another one. Although it is not as fancy […]

Sometimes it’s difficult to stay in contact with the parents and keep them informed about the students’ progress. Here are some ways to improve the lines of communication: Newsletters. Create a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter, and send it out via email or snail mail. In it, congratulate student accomplishments (participation in competitions or other music […]

If you like new age or solo piano music, check out Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio. You can listen to new age / solo piano music for free on their website. It’s a great place to listen to relaxing piano music while checking email or surfing the web. =)

“Music produces a kind of pleasure with which human nature cannot do without.” – Confucius Every Wednesday brings Words of Wisdom here at the Color in my Piano blog…in the form of a musical quote or joke, intended to bring inspiration or humor to the middle of your week. Have suggestions? Send an email […]

You might be a theory geek if… your favorite pickup line is, “What’s your favorite augmented sixth chord?” your second favorite pickup line is, “Would you like to raise my leading tone?” you dream in four parts. your biological clock follows a non-retrogradable isorhythm. you can improvise 16th century counterpoint with no trouble, but you […]

Have you seen makingmusicfun.net yet? This site is full of free resources for both teachers and students. All the materials available at Making Music Fun have super-cute graphics in an “under the sea” theme. For teachers: Sheet music (both arranged and unarranged, organized by level) Composer worksheets Music achievement certificates Practice charts Manuscript paper Intervals […]

Just thought I’d share a little tip today about where to find THE best free manuscript paper (in my humble opinion): Antonjazz.com There are hundreds of sites out there that offer free manuscript paper (aka staff paper). But this is my absolute favorite. Now, you must know, I do a little composing every now […]

“There’s nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.” – Johann Sebastian Bach Every Wednesday brings Words of Wisdom here at the Color in my Piano blog…in the form of a musical quote or joke, intended to bring inspiration or […]

A couple weeks ago, I posted a list of melodies that work well assign piano students to take home and learn to play by ear. Over at ComposeCreate.com, Wendy Stevens talks about the value of teaching students to play by ear during a lecture she gave, Composition for Kids: Time-Saving Ways to Teach Composition in your Studio. […]